Why healthy food means healthy business

  • Food

  • Jul. 15, 2025

Discover key insights and takeaways to help you support your employees with the healthy workplace dining options they need to fuel their performance and well-being throughout their working days. 

Healthy eating as a strategic advantage

When you think about powerful business strategies, does workplace food come to mind?

 

It should.

 

In today’s rapidly evolving work environment, which is defined by hybrid schedules, shifting employee expectations and heightened focus on wellness, healthy workplace food isn’t just a perk. It’s a high-impact investment. One that influences employee wellness, productivity, and retention every single day.

Our Eating Moments Insights Report provides a data-rich look into how food shapes the workday and how organizations can turn their workplace dining solutions into a true competitive advantage.

The real ROI of healthy dining at work

Your team doesn’t just eat to fill time, they eat to fuel output. When employees have access to nutritious meals during the workday, they experience:

 

  • Sharper focus and decision-making
  • Improved mood and energy
  • Fewer sick days and better overall performance

 

This creates ripple effects across the business, from boosting morale to fueling innovation, and even improving talent retention.


Healthy food leads to healthy business. The numbers back it up.

  • 1. A healthy routine morning boost

    • Often solo, quick, and consumed at the desk
    • Incredibly important, 53% of all workplace eating globally is now breakfast and snacking
    • Health is a top priority for employees during this moment with preferred food choices like fruits, yogurt and granola.

    Wellness opportunity: Offering your employees protein-rich, grab-and-go breakfast options and healthy caffeine alternatives show employees you see them with flexible offerings that are as healthy, tasty and energizing as their work demands.

  • 2. My healthy meal

    • This is when people make a deliberate choice focused on wellness and sustainability
    • Employees seek fresh, plant-forward and locally sourced options
    • Fresh ingredients is the top association employees have with healthy food
       

    Wellness opportunity: Providing menus for your employees that balance indulgence with nourishment using whole ingredients enable them to feel more productive and nourished throughout the entire workday.
     

  • 3. A nutritious informal lunch together

    • A chance to connect, reset, and recharge
    • Combines nutritional needs with social interaction
    • Employees seek food containing seasonal and fresh ingredients

    Wellness opportunity: Design inviting dining spaces and serve chef-prepared meals containing seasonal and fresh ingredients which your employees can enjoy whilst connecting with their colleagues. Boosting health and collaboration simultaneously.

  • 4. A healthful nomadic discovery

    • On-the-go meals driven by convenience and curiosity
    • Often linked to “treat yourself” moments that still seek fresh, natural and nutritious ingredients

    Wellness opportunity: Give your teams the variety and exploration they crave with rotating takeaway menus containing fresh, seasonal ingredients which provides them with a satisfying break and the fuel they need to be productive.

Healthy workplace food: from cafeteria to competitive advantage

Each of these eating moments can provide an opportunity to support the health and wellness of your employees or be a missed opportunity. A well-executed, health-forward food strategy is a silent force behind:

 

  • Higher retention
  • Increased productivity
  • Better employer branding
  • Stronger sense of community

With today’s talent market placing a premium on well-being and purpose, businesses can no longer afford to treat food as an afterthought.

Healthy food at work isn’t a cost. It’s a culture-building investment.

What leaders can do today:

Ready to turn food into fuel for growth? Here are practical next steps:

 

  • Evaluate your current workplace dining solution, are healthful options and flexibility built in?
  • Introduce breakfast stations with energizing and nutritious options
  • Create rotating, plant-based lunch menus that reflect diverse dietary needs
  • Optimize dining spaces to encourage collaboration and connection
  • Choose partners who prioritize fresh ingredients, sustainability, and innovation

Final takeaway: nurture your culture with delicious and healthy food any time of the day

Healthy eating in the workplace is more than a personal habit, it’s a powerful business strategy. When your food services reflect care, flexibility, and well-being, your people notice. And they respond with higher performance, deeper loyalty, and a stronger connection to your organization.

Sodexo helps forward-thinking companies transform their workplace dining into meaningful, engaging experiences where every meal supports a healthier, more productive workplace with brands like Modern Recipe.

Modern Recipe menus are healthy and delicious as well as sustainable and affordable. Giving your people that ‘taken care of’ feeling any time of day.

Find out more about our all-day dining experiences and good-for-you dishes, snacks and beverages: Modern Recipe

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Understanding Eating Moments: how flexible food services boost workforce retention

Our research analyzed over 7,000 eating moments from 3,849 employees across the United States, United Kingdom and France. Discover the key moments throughout the day which could boost the productivity, engagement and satisfaction of employees like yours around the globe!

Find out more

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